Treated pine for budget-friendly garden and terrace walls, or hardwood for a longer-lasting, premium timber look. Set into galvanised steel H-beam posts, not timber, by a QBCC-licensed team.
Timber sleepers are the most affordable way to level a garden, build a raised bed or step a sloping yard. Treated pine is the budget option and suits lower walls. Hardwood is denser and heavier, lasts longer and has a richer look. Either way, we set the sleepers into galvanised steel posts, so the frame of the wall won't rot even as the timber ages.
We build treated pine and hardwood sleeper retaining walls across Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, the Redlands and the Gold Coast, from our base in Underwood. Timber sleeper walls are ideal for garden edging, raised beds, terraced lawns and low walls on sloping blocks, and every one we build sits on galvanised steel posts with proper drainage behind it.
Timber posts in the ground are usually the first thing to rot. We use galvanised steel H-beam posts so the structure lasts.
The budget-friendly choice for garden beds, edging and lower walls.
Denser, heavier and longer-lasting, with a premium natural timber look.
Wet timber breaks down faster. Good drainage keeps water off the sleepers and pressure off the wall.
In Brisbane, a retaining wall generally does not need building approval when all of these are true: the total height of the wall and the ground it retains is no more than one metre above natural ground level; it’s at least 1.5 metres from a building or another retaining wall; and there’s no surcharge loading (like a driveway, pool or another wall) in the zone behind it. It also can’t form part of a pool-safety barrier.
Once a wall is over a metre, close to a building or another wall, or carrying extra load above it, it typically needs engineering and building approval from a licensed certifier. Heights can also be combined where walls are stacked or terraced. We’ll tell you exactly where your job sits when we assess the site, and arrange engineering when it’s needed.
This is general information based on Brisbane City Council guidance and can change — it isn’t formal advice for your specific site. Requirements differ between councils (Brisbane, Logan, Gold Coast and others) and always depend on the actual conditions on your block. We’ll confirm what applies to your job.
Nearly every failed wall we’re called out to comes down to the same two things: drainage and footings. Water builds up behind a wall with nowhere to go, the pressure doubles, and the wall gives. Or the footings were too shallow for the load. Both are invisible once the job’s done — which is exactly why cheap walls look fine on day one and lean by year three.
That unseen groundwork is the whole point of how we work. We’re built for what’s behind the line.
Retaining walls are priced per lineal metre, not per square metre. As a broad guide, they commonly run from around $200 to $2,000+ per lineal metre, depending heavily on height, wall type, drainage, engineering, site access and how much excavation is involved. A low garden sleeper wall sits at the lower end; a tall engineered concrete wall at the upper. The only real number is a measured quote — and ours is free.
Figures are general market ranges for guidance only, not a quote.
Often yes — but only if the wall was designed for it. The extra height and wind load a fence adds has to be planned into the wall and its footings from the start. If you’re considering both, tell us early and we’ll design them to work together — a Colorbond or timber fence set properly on a wall built to carry it.
Generally not if the retained height is under one metre, it’s at least 1.5 m from a building or another wall, and there’s no extra load behind it. Over that, or near structures, it usually needs engineering and certifier approval. We confirm what applies to your site.
Walls over about a metre, walls carrying load above them, and stacked/terraced walls typically need engineering. We arrange certified engineering whenever a job calls for it.
Pine is the budget choice for lower garden walls. Hardwood costs more but lasts longer and looks richer. For taller walls, or if you never want to think about it again, ask us about concrete or composite sleepers.
Almost always poor drainage or undersized footings — water pressure building behind the wall, or footings too shallow for the load. Both are hidden, which is why doing them right matters most.
It depends on the timber, the drainage and how wet the site stays. Hardwood generally outlasts pine. Steel posts and good drainage give timber sleepers the best possible life.
Tell us about your slope and we’ll assess the site and have a preliminary quote back to you within 24 hours. Servicing Brisbane & the Gold Coast.
